Dr Heather Sharp

Career Summary

Biography

Heather Sharp is a Lecturer and Director, Teaching Quality at the School of Education, convenor of the History Network for Teachers and Researchers (HNTR); and an Associate Editor of Historical Encounters. Her current research investigates historical representations in school curriculum, particularly textbooks and also examines the written and visual texts in picture books that deal with conflict.

Heather’s research has included analysis of the representations of Indigenous Australians and British heritages in History textbooks across selected time periods of the Twentieth Century; and more recently, the exploration of competing representations of Gallipoli in Australian and Turkish history textbooks. Heather’s scholarship has adopted a bricolage approach that encompasses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), historical methodologies, and visual analysis techniques, framed within a Gramscian and Althusserian understanding of hegemony.

After working as a secondary school teacher (English and History) for a number of years, Heather began my University career in January 2006. She has taught and coordinated Education courses in the areas of: transformative pedagogies, philosophies of education, History curriculum and pedagogies, literacies, education as a professional career, assessment, and professional experience.

Research ExpertiseMy PhD is titled: Constructing history: Selective representations of Indigenous Australians and British heritages in Queensland History curriculum. The research was conducted through a bricolage approach, encompassing Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), historical methodologies, visual analysis techniques and framed within an understanding of hegemony as espoused by Gramsci and Althusser. The thesis analysed representations of Indigenous Australians and British heritages in History textbooks across selected time periods of the twentieth century. I conduct research on academic and undergraduate student research partnerships. This explores the power relationships, cognitive benefits and socialising impacts that occur when academics and students work together, outside of official university courses. Beginning teacher induction is an area I have researched, specifically investigating the connection between expectations of professional support and the realities beginning teachers experience in a school setting.

Teaching ExpertiseI have the following broad university teaching expertise: supervisor of Honours and Masters students; course coordination of first, second and third year courses; lecturing and tutoring of courses across secondary, primary and middle school degree programs. I have also coordinated programs for Research Higher Degree students who wish to embark on an academic career.

Qualifications

PhD, University of Southern Queensland

Bachelor of Education, Queensland University of Technology

Bachelor of Arts, Queensland University of Technology

Master of Education, Deakin University

Graduate Certificate Practice of Tertiary Teaching, University of Newcastle

Sharp HL, 'Historical representation of Gallipoli in the Australian curriculum: What does a critical analysis of textbooks reveal about the Gallipoli campaign?', Agora, 49 14-23 (2014) [C1]

2014

Sharp HL, 'Representing Australia's Involvement in the First World War: Discrepancies between public discourses and school history textbooks from 1916 to 1936.', Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society, 6 1-23 (2014) [C1]

Parkes RJ, Sharp H, 'Nietzschean perspectives on representations of national history in Australian school textbooks: What should we do with Gallipoli?', ENSAYOS, Revisita de la Facultad de EducaciÃ³n de Albacete, 29 159-181 (2014) [C1]

The Application of Communicative Language Teaching Approach within English as Foreign Language ContextCurriculum & Education Studies, Faculty of Education and ArtsCo-Supervisor

2011

The Impact of Disaggregating Concept and Specialist Language on Content Learning and Academic Identity Formation: An Instructional Approach for English Language Learners in Content-Rich SubjectsCurriculum & Education Studies, Faculty of Education and ArtsCo-Supervisor

2008

Equity versus excellence: An exploration into high achieving students' perspectives of their academic experiences in an inclusive classroomEducation, University of Southern QueenslandSole Supervisor

Past Supervision

Year

Research Title / Program / Supervisor Type

2010

Equity versus excellence: An exploration into high achieving students' perspectives of their academic experiences in an inclusive classroomEducation, University of Southern QueenslandSole Supervisor

2007

Embedding ICTs in the SOSE curriculumEducation, University of Southern QueenslandSole Supervisor